Private sector shuns LHA tenants in wake of welfare reforms

Addressing delegates at the CIH conference in Harrogate this week, Richard Price, director of operations at the National Landlords Association (NLA), said one in five private landlords was now refusing to take on new tenants in receipt of the local housing allowance.

The retreat follows government plans to overhaul the welfare system, reducing the local housing allowance to a maximum of £400 a week for a four bedroom property, pricing many tenants out of the private market.

When surveyed by the NLA, 90% of landlords said they could not afford to reduce the rent they charged to adapt to the new rules. Read More: